Now my soul is deeply troubled
Welcome back!
I'm sure many of you have read in other blog posts, that we (the team) have a wonderful man who works at Alpha that drives us to basically anywhere we need to go at any time regardless the circumstances. His name is Patrick.
As I said, Patrick is a driver, he is in his late 20's and as a team we have all grown quite close to him over the past few weeks. Patrick's father was killed by the LRA, and his mother died of sickness. Both before he was 18 years old. But you would never know the pain of his past if you saw him. You would think that this man has had a great life (as good as it gets in Uganda). Patrick is filled with joy and brings that joy wherever he goes. He constantly has a genuine smile on his face. He is the most selfless person I have literally ever met.
Many people in Uganda as us white people for money – and I can't blame them. They hear of America and its riches – I would do the same thing if i were in their shoes. Why not? Patrick is constantly around us, seeing us paying for various things and holding money that he just doesn't have. NOT ONCE has he asked me for money – better yet, he has never asked for anything from me. He is SURE that God, his Father, will provide for his needs.
With his father being murdered, and his mother dying before he was even 18 years old, Patrick still gives thanks to God for all that He has given him. I think there's a BIG lesson to be learned through the lift of Patrick, and i hope you're seeing it as i am. What in our past do we dwell on? What has God provided for us in our lives – daily, or over the years?
Now for the title – John 12:27
But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to your name."
Jesus wanted to be saved from this horroble death, but he knew that God sent him into the world to die for our sins, in our place. Jesus said NO to his HUMAN DESIRES in order to obey his Father.
So many times throughout this mission – I asked God to bring me our of hard on confusing or challenging situations. I need to examine the situation first – and think of GOD's WILL before my own will for my life. During times when, "my soul is deeply troubled", I and even further WE should focus on glorifying GOD instead of protecting our own well-being as humans. Let us glorify our creator and not ourselves – the created.
On a lighter note – I preached a sermon for the first time ever this past week durin the lunch hour prayer. I spoke from James 4: 1-10. This was one situation where I was asking God to save me from the situation – mainly because of pride and self-protection. But He showed me that all I was doing was glorifying HIM and his word for us. What an opportunity it is to share Christ. Praise God for using us – so unworthy and undeserving – yet God chooses us to further His work and bring others closer to Him.
That's all for now! Bless you guys – and again I thank you all for your support and prayers! Like I said – God gives us opportunity to bring others closer to Him – and so many of you have been servants of God in my life and in this teams life by supporting us and praying for this mission. THANK YOU ALL! Know that YOU are making a difference in so many lives!
"May the Lord bless you and protect you,
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you,
May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace."
May He be glorified in our lives,
Jake Maxwell
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